


After that, after that, after that

by jayjaybee



Category: Holby City
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-11 13:17:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7894075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jayjaybee/pseuds/jayjaybee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bernie's buying loo roll when a helicopter crashes into the ED. </p><p>Set between Casualty 31.1 and Holby City 18.47.</p>
            </blockquote>





	After that, after that, after that

Bernie’s in the loo roll aisle of Waitrose when her phone goes. She abandons her trolley, and heads straight for her car.

*

With mangled metal, and smashed up vehicles, and a helicopter in bits, and the emergency services everywhere, and officials standing about with bodybags, the scene outside the ED appears to be little short of a warzone.

That’s not a comparison she makes lightly.

Hanssen greets her on her approach to AAU. A few words of encouragement, and he sends her on her way. There is a horror in his eyes she’s never seen before.

Her first job’s a lower limb amputation. After that, a child with crush injuries. After that, a young man with internal bleeding. After that, a girl with a broken neck. After that, a head injury. After that, after that, after that - it’s relentless.

Raf’s face is white behind his surgical mask. He’s exhausted. She’d like to tell him to take a break, but AAU needs to mop up the overspill from the now-closed ED, and with Serena on holiday she needs all her most experienced hands on deck. In between jobs they scarf down tea and jaffa cakes, and it’s just about enough to keep them going.

News comes that Ethan’s been found under the scaffolding, relatively unscathed. It seems remarkable, really, with the devastation that’s otherwise surrounding them.

The news about Connie and Grace is less encouraging. 

An hour later, and it’s still not letting up, and she and Raf are preparing to go into theatre once more.

But it’s not Raf who comes into the Scrub room behind her.

‘Need a hand?’

She turns in surprise. The voice belongs to someone she thought was well out of this carnage. Someone who, the last she heard, had been off to sun herself on a secluded beach somewhere on the Mediterranean. That thought has been a reassuring one for Bernie in the frenzy of the last few hours: as much as she’d’ve preferred Serena to be here, working alongside her, the fact that she’s been well out of harm’s way has been something that Bernie has taken considerable comfort in.

Except now it turns out she’s been in Holby the whole time.

'I thought you were in Italy.’

'Well, I’m not.’ 

'So it seems.’ There’s a pause, and though no explanation seems to be forthcoming from Serena, Bernie judges that now is hardly the time to fish for one. Instead, she says, 'You ok?’

Serena nods, curtly. 'You?’

Bernie nods herself. Then, 'It’s good to see you,’ she says.

'Likewise.’

They hold each other’s gaze for a moment, and if it seems to Bernie an inadequate way of conveying everything she wants to - needs to - it’s the best she can do in this moment. She clears her throat. 'Now, shall we get to work?’


End file.
